"Green protection gutted: European commission jeopardises nature and health safeguards"

EU law-dismantling proposals mark a dangerous turn toward weaker rules and increased public health risks.

Today, the European Commission published the new Environmental Omnibus and the Grids Package, which includes the proposal for a Renewable Acceleration Directive. These texts confirm what civil society, scientists, and concerned citizens have been warning about for months: the Von der Leyen Commission is dismantling decades of hard-won nature protections, putting air, water, and public health at risk in the name of competitiveness. 

These proposals are not isolated or technical adjustments: they are part of a broader pattern of attacks, from weakening the EU Deforestation Regulation to cutting down protections against chemicals and pesticides, opening the door to increased pollution. This dismantling goes beyond environmental policy, undermining democratic accountability.

Warnings from citizens and experts have so far been ignored, raising serious concerns about the legitimacy of the process. This is shown by the EU Ombudswoman’s finding of maladministration in the 2024 CAP “simplification” and by the nearly 200,000 citizen responses to the environmental omnibus call for evidence that were ultimately disregarded. 

The Commission’s supposed “savings” also come with no impact assessment and focus only on reduced compliance costs, ignoring the far larger price of pollution, ecosystem decline, and climate-related disasters. Their own estimates show that weak or missing implementation of environmental laws already costs Europe about €180 billion [6] each year in health impacts and environmental damage. 

Sabien Leemans, Biodiversity Manager at the WWF European Policy Office, said: “Today’s proposal marks yet another sad milestone in the deregulation madness. It is like watching a car crash in slow motion, on repeat: The Commission proposes ‘minor’ changes, completely loses control, and we end up with MEPs and Member States ripping apart entire environmental laws. We’ve seen this with the first omnibus, with the EU Deforestation Regulation, and the same may well happen with this proposal.” [...]

European citizens’ health is at serious risk. While a few powerful industries will benefit, weaker regulations will increase exposure to toxic chemicals, worsen air and water quality, and raise long-term risks for communities. These rollbacks dismantle safeguards that protect against cancer, respiratory disease, and environmental harm. The EU should instead strengthen protections to preserve public health and ensure a clean, safe, and healthy environment. [...]

The implementation of these provisions will lead to further habitat loss and species decline in the EU. Given the already fragile state of many species and ecosystems, the risk of actual extinctions is very high. 

The EU must choose whether it remains a global leader in protecting people and nature, or whether it becomes a deregulated playground for corporate interests. We now call on the European Parliament and Member States to reject this omnibus and halt the wave of deregulation it represents.